The energetics of natural garnet solid solution

Approximate mixing properties of the end-member components of the quarternary garnet solid solution, (Fe,Mg,Ca,Mn)₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂, have been derived through theoretical analysis of observational data, combined with certain experimental results and crystal chemical considerations. The results suggest that the mixing of pyrope with grossularite, spessartite, and almandine would involve significant positive excess free energies of mixing leading to the critical mixing temperatures of 694±55, 535±140, and 479±63 °C respectively. Spessartite would mix with almandine nearly ideally, and with grossularite with small positive deviation from ideality. The quarternary solution reduces essentially to a ternary mixture of pyrope, grossularite, and almandine + spessartite. The solid solubility relation, and tie line coordinates in this ternary system has been calculated as a function of temperature; the solid solution is found to be intrinsically stable for practically all ternary compositions at 600 °C.